The failure of top-down conservation in natural resource management continues to provoke resistance led by local communities. This study analyzes how the coastal community of Torosiaje constructs a polycentric governance system through collective action in response to ecological crises and to the state's appropriation of living space, aiming to achieve blue justice in the management of marine and coastal resources. The complex, polycentric governance in joint management involves various actors, including the state, local communities, and the private sector, who collectively play active roles in decision-making for sustainability. Meanwhile, blue justice requires the fair distribution of natural resources and ecosystem benefits, which is pursued through the collective struggle of the community against ecological injustice. Using social movement and political ecology theories as an analytical framework, this research redefines Community-Based Natural Resource Management (CBNRM) as a more inclusive and responsive model to local dynamics. A qualitative case study design was employed through in-depth interviews, participant observation, and document analysis, which were subsequently analyzed thematically. The findings reveal that integrating local knowledge and formal rules, embodied in the paddakuang and sipakullong conservation groups, results in a more adaptive and just CBNRM model in response to resistance. Cross-village collaboration, participatory ecotourism, and culture-based education strengthen the socio-ecological dimensions of this polycentric governance. This study contributes theoretically by applying social movement theory to redefine successful CBNRM. It argues that sustainable governance is a political outcome shaped by community resistance to ecological injustice and state dispossession, rather than merely a technical model.

Continuous monitoring of seawater nutrients is crucial for marine resource research and conservation, yet it faces challenges due to the constraints of offshore working conditions. We developed a multi-analyte sensor based on flow analysis technology, which integrates wet-chemical colorimetry/fluorometry for the simultaneous in situ determination of nitrite, nitrate, ammonium, silicate, and phosphate in seawater. To mitigate bubble interference, an integrated gas-trapping cavity was designed, and a data-cleaning algorithm based on the interquartile range method was implemented. In June 2025, a sea trial was conducted at two stations in the northern South China Sea, the results of which showed high consistency with laboratory standard methods: the maximum absolute relative errors were 1.79% for nitrite, 5.01% for nitrate, 1.42% for ammonium, 5.93% for phosphate, and 2.95% for silicate. The performance under real marine conditions is demonstrated by relative errors below 6% and linear correlation coefficients exceeding 0.999 for all parameters. This research demonstrates a practical approach for in situ marine observation.

Artisanal fishing in the Panamanian Pacific faces challenges such as overfishing, low income and climate change, which need to be addressed through comprehensive development policies aimed at meeting local needs in order to ensure the livelihoods and sustainability of the activity. Despite this, there are currently no diagnoses of the socioeconomic and sustainability characteristics of the communities to promote local development based on the evidence and worldview of the inhabitants. A descriptive, cross-sectional, mixed-methods study was carried out using surveys and interviews with 32 fishermen from the rural community of Río Congo to collect data. The data were then tabulated in spreadsheets and analyzed in the R program for the quantitative data; the qualitative information was analyzed by the research team according to categories and subcategories to extract the main ideas. The results revealed a lack of basic services, gender inequality in the fishing activity, dependence on intermediaries and overexploitation of the main commercial species, corvina and shrimp. In addition, they highlight the urgency of formulating and evaluating policies for the regulation of responsible fishing, fair and equitable marketing, and addressing gender inequalities, promoting sustainable rural development and the conservation of marine resources.

Dietary studies play a vital role in understanding the balance of marine ecosystems and sustainable fishery practices. This research examines the feeding habits of Sardinella maderensis, a commercially important Clupeidae species, in the marine waters off Latakia, eastern Mediterranean. 1,200 specimens were collected using gillnets and chinchilla nets, following local fishing practices, between October 20, 2021, and September 14, 2023. The sampled individuals displayed a standard-length range of 9.32–23.18 cm (mean 14.67±4.2 cm) and a weight range of 12.41–116.1 g (mean 44.28±28.37 g), with a maximum body height averaging 3.49±1.26 cm. Dietary analysis indicated that S.maderensis is a planktivorous species, feeding on 15 planktonic species categorized into seven major groups: Crustaceans ranked first, with a relative importance of 46.95%, a frequency of 45.67%, and a total of 7832.50 points. This group included various types, such as copepods (e.g., Calanoidea and Cyclopidae) and malacostracans, including Euphausiacea, Mysidacea, and Decapoda (Penaeus and Crab megalopae). Detritus ranked second, with a relative importance of 19.60%, a frequency of 17.77%, and 2243.50 points. Phytoplankton followed, ranking third with a relative importance of 15.23%, a frequency of 13.55%, and 4158.88 points. Fish ranked fourth, with a relative importance of 8.95%, a frequency of 12.75%, and 2513 points. This group consisted of three species: Anguilliformes, Ophidion rochei, Trachurus trachurus, and partially digested fish remains. Polychaete worms showed a low contribution, with a relative importance of 0.75%, a frequency of 2.18%, and 255 points. Foraminifera contributed 0.32%, with a frequency of 1.02% and 71 points. Mollusks, represented by a single Octopoda individual, had the lowest contribution, with a relative importance of 0.01%, a frequency of 0.15%, and 20 points. These findings provide essential ecological data on S.maderensis feeding behavior, contributing to improved fisheries management and marine conservation efforts in the coastal waters of Latakia.

Biodiversity conservation relies upon accurate species taxonomy to support decision-making. Stony corals in the genus Pocillopora are critical ecosystem engineers in the Eastern Tropical Pacific (ETP), however, Pocillopora species diversity in the region is still unresolved due to high phenotypic plasticity, lack of diagnostic morphological characters, and low-resolution genetic markers used in previous studies. To address this gap, we leveraged low-coverage whole-genome sequencing for 342 Pocillopora coral samples collected from Panamá, Costa Rica, Colombia, Ecuador, and Clipperton Atoll (France). Sequence data were used to recover mitochondrial genomes and barcode loci, ultraconserved elements (UCEs), and genome-wide SNPs for species delimitation. Together, our data revealed the existence of four distinct Pocillopora species in the ETP, corresponding to the nominal species P. effusa (Veron, 2000), P. meandrina Dana, 1846, P. capitata Verrill, 1864 and P. lacera Verrill, 1869. Two P. capitata population sub-clusters with moderate genetic differentiation were separated between offshore islands and continental sites, and individual colonies with signatures of admixture between P. effusa and P. lacera were identified at Isla del Coco, Costa Rica. Additionally, Pocillopora-associated algal symbiont community profiling identified Cladocopium and Durusdinium as dominant genera that varied according to the host species, with P. lacera demonstrating higher specificity for associations with Cladocopium. This study highlights the power of genome skimming as an affordable, high-resolution approach to rapidly assess coral species diversity and algal symbiont associations, thereby empowering marine conservation.

This study is motivated by the importance of synchronization between national legislation and regional regulations in the management of conservation areas, particularly in East Lombok Regency, which has a Regional Marine Conservation Area (KKLD) established under Regional Regulation No. 10 of 2006. The purpose of this research is to analyze the degree of alignment and consistency between the East Lombok Regional Regulation and national legislation, as well as to identify potential disharmony and its implications for the effectiveness of conservation management. This research applies a normative juridical method with a qualitative approach through content analysis and comparative examination of relevant marine conservation regulations. The results show that although the East Lombok Regulation provides a strong normative foundation, vertical inconsistencies remain with Law No. 5 of 1990 and Law No. 32 of 2014, particularly concerning zoning arrangements and supervision mechanisms. In addition, horizontal disharmony between the KKLD Regulation and the Spatial Planning Regulation (RTRW) creates potential overlaps in authority. Therefore, vertical and horizontal harmonization, along with clear technical guidelines for supervision, is required to ensure effective and sustainable conservation area management.

Environmental gradients drive the ecological dynamics of bacterioplankton in the East China Sea based on eDNA metabarcoding.

The integration of sustainable development elements into interaction design for ocean conservation education in natural history museum: A review

Mitochondrial genome sequencing has become a vital tool for understanding marine bivalve evolution, genetics, and adaptation. This review highlights advances from Sanger to next- and third-generation sequencing, which have improved the accuracy and efficiency of mitogenome studies. These developments have uncovered unique features such as doubly uniparental inheritance (DUI) and extensive gene rearrangements, deepening insights into bivalve evolution, phylogenetics, conservation, and aquaculture. Mitogenomics aids in species identification, population analysis, and selective breeding for traits like disease resistance. Despite challenges such as complex architectures, annotation gaps, and unusual inheritance like DUI, emerging technologies such as single-cell sequencing, CRISPR, and omics integration offer new opportunities. As data sharing and collaboration expand, mitochondrial genomics will continue shaping marine conservation and sustainable aquaculture.

Introduction The present exploratory study investigates emotions, pro-environmental behaviors, and demographic predictors of ocean-related eco-anxiety. Methods A nationally representative sample of 1,226 United States adults, standardized by age, gender, and geographic region, completed an online survey assessing psychological responses to ocean degradation, pro-environmental behaviors, and emotional connection to the marine environment. Results The results of regression analysis revealed that individuals experiencing ocean-related eco-anxiety were more likely to report decreased depression near the ocean, express high concern about ocean conservation, reduce their carbon footprint, take action to protect the ocean, as well as hold the belief that ocean protection is the sole responsibility of the government. Furthermore, those who reported that fear motivates them to take ocean conservation action were also more likely to report experiencing high levels of eco-anxiety, suggesting that negative emotions can act as powerful drivers of ocean conservation action. With regard to age, among all age groups, adults aged 30–44 years old were significantly less likely to report ocean-related eco-anxiety. Conclusion Taken together, these findings highlight the complex role of eco-anxiety in motivating conservation behavior and underscore the need to integrate emotional dimensions into future ocean stewardship efforts. Addressing eco-anxiety through conservation messaging and mental health interventions may strengthen emotional resilience and foster long-term commitment to ocean conservation.

This study proposes a Long Short-Term Memory (LSTM) model to predict the hatching success of sea turtle eggs in the Anambas Islands Marine Conservation Area, Indonesia. Leveraging nesting data (2022–2024) provided by LKKPN Pekanbaru and associated environmental variables, the model’s performance was assessed across various configurations of time steps (2, 5, 7, 30, and 45 days) and data splits (ranging from 60:40 to 90:10). The optimal configuration—7-day time step with a 60:40 train-test split—yielded RMSE = 17.90, MAE = 8.67, and R² = 0.34. Results revealed strong seasonal nesting trends and statistically significant interspecies differences in incubation periods (p < 0.05). While the model demonstrated high predictive accuracy for standard incubation durations (30–45 days), performance declined in extreme cases, highlighting the need for location-specific environmental data. This research illustrates the practical application of LSTM for ecological time series forecasting and provides a machine learning framework to support decision-making in ecotourism scheduling and marine conservation planning in island-based coastal ecosystems.

Willingness to engage in marine conservation through eDNA-informed citizen science on whale-watching platforms

Development along the southern coast of the Special Region of Yogyakarta, particularly in tourism zones, increasingly threatens sea turtle conservation and reduces the availability of suitable nesting sites. This study aims to model the suitability of sea turtle nesting habitats, analyze environmental variables influencing nesting preferences, and evaluate prediction results along the Kretek District coastline using Species Distribution Modeling (SDM) with the MaxEnt algorithm. Eleven environmental variables such as slope, distance to vegetation, dunes, built-up areas, fallow land, agricultural land, roads, rivers, fishponds, and proximity to the sea—were derived from remote sensing data. The model produced an elongated suitability pattern along stretches of sand and open land, indicating that Depok, Pelangi, Cemara Sewu, Barchan, and Parangkusumo Beaches are generally suitable for nesting, while Parangtritis Beach is unsuitable due to intense human activity. The model achieved a very high accuracy (AUC 0.981), with distance from sand being the most influential variable (66.5% contribution; 63.6% permutation importance). Evaluation results showed that increased human disturbance correlates with fewer nesting sites; Depok and Parangtritis Beaches had the lowest presence, while Pelangi Beach recorded the highest nesting activity with 43 locations.

Tourism is developing expeditiously, with particular interest in maritime activities. previously mentioned, it can obtain negative ramification, such as heightened household waste, environmental pollution, ecological damage, commination to species and conflicts over ownership. Pratasaba Resort's designation blue rating aims to enhance responsible tourism governance and motivate communities to participate in Indonesia's marine conservation efforts. The methods used are interviews, observations, document reviews, media research, and determining the position of economic participants in the Signing Blue rating. Based on the assessment results, Pratasaba Resort needs to improve all the rage several areas, including: B. (1) Starfish 1: Understanding and commitment to consistent tourism practices. (2) Starfish 2: Commitment to implementing collaborative governance practices. (3) Starfish 3: Increased stakeholder awareness, motivation and commitment in tourism practices. Overall, Pratasaba Resort Maratua was able to achieve Starfish 3 level. This means that it was fully committed to consistent tourism activities and can carry them out domestic.

Oil spills threaten marine ecosystems and hinder progress toward Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 14 on ocean conservation and sustainable marine resource use. Coastal ecosystems in Myanmar face growing risks from expanding maritime infrastructure, including ports, special economic zones, and offshore projects. This study aims to develop a spatial Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) map for the Tanintharyi region by integrating biological, socio-economic, and physical factors. Using the Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP), weighting values were derived from local conservation and livelihood experts to ensure regional relevance. The inclusion of chlorophyll-a as a biological indicator improves the assessment of marine productivity and ecosystem health, linking ESI mapping to ocean acidification. The results showed that 8% of the area was very highly sensitive, 25% was highly sensitive, and 23% was moderately sensitive. The most sensitive zones were concentrated along the southern coastline, particularly in Thayetchaung Township, due to dense mangroves, critical habitats, and resource-dependent fisheries. This study presents the first spatial ESI assessment for Tanintharyi, providing a practical framework for oil spill preparedness and ecosystem protection, with potential for future enhancement through integration with oil spill simulation modeling.

The widespread presence of microplastics (MPs) in the environment has raised significant concerns about their potential impact on human health. As of 2023, the Ocean Conservancy estimates that adults may ingest up to 121,000 MPs annually. While the majority of these particles are cleared from the body, a small fraction can persist, as MPs are non-biodegradable and resist breakdown, posing long-term health risks that remain poorly understood. This review explores the emerging link between MP exposure and the development of neurodegenerative diseases, particularly Alzheimer's disease (AD) and Parkinson's disease [1]. MPs appear capable of triggering neurotoxic pathways, including activation of resident immune cells in the brain, oxidative stress, blood-brain barrier (BBB) disruption, mitochondrial dysfunction, and neuronal damage, which may contribute to neuroinflammation and disease progression. Specifically, six MP-related mechanistic pathways associated with AD were identified: BBB disruption, chronic inflammation, oxidative stress and ROS generation, mitochondrial dysfunction, impaired autophagy and proteostasis, and epigenetic alterations. Similarly, six pathways were implicated in PD: BBB disruption, oxidative stress in dopaminergic neurons, mitochondrial dysfunction, microglial-driven neuroinflammation, α-synuclein aggregation, and gut-brain axis [2] disruption. Ultimately, our findings underscore the urgent need for further research into the neurological consequences of chronic MP exposure in humans and highlight the importance of strengthening global policies to curb plastic pollution and mitigate its long-term health risks.

Understanding the status and trends of Essential Ocean Variables (EOV) and Essential Biodiversity Variables (EBV) is crucial for informing policy-makers and the public about sustainable management of marine biodiversity. Marine image data hold significant potential in this context, offering a permanent, information-rich and non-extractive record of marine environments at the time of capture. Quantitative image-based measurements such as species abundance and distribution have proven to be highly effective for engaging diverse stakeholders. The exchange and reuse by experienced fisheries scientists and marine ecologists of nine image-based datasets (including images, metadata and annotations) collected through various protocols revealed a substantial disconnect between initial expectations and actual practical usability, particularly in terms of understanding and reusing data. Two key issues were highlighted. First, the link between the datasets and their potential applications in deriving EOV/EBV was often inadequately described or absent. Second, despite both initial and ongoing efforts to document the data, new users continued to face challenges in understanding underlying properties and contextual features of datasets. We suggest these findings are likely to characterize many, if not most, historical image-based datasets. While standards promoting the FAIR principles (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, and Reusable) for image-based data are emerging, our focus here is on the specific features of documentation that enable or facilitate reuse of data for the purpose of deriving EOV/EBV. From this perspective, we provide a set of recommendations for documenting both images and their associated annotations, aimed at supporting broader applications of in situ image data in marine conservation and ecology.

West Nusa Tenggara Province has 9 (nine) marine conservation areas that have been determined based on the decision of the Minister of Marine Affairs and Fisheries and managed by the Regional Government, one of which is the Gili Tangkong, Gili Nanggu, Gili Sudak (Gita Nada) Marine Tourism Park and surrounding waters. This study analyzes the inconsistency of the results of EVIKA's assessment with the reality of regional management. The research method used the analysis of EVIKA documents on the Gita Nada conservation area, management reports, monitoring reports and stakeholder interviews. The results show gaps in the institutional, socioeconomic, ecological and infrastructure aspects of regional management. Recommendations include improving the EWIKA methodology, strengthening the management unit's institutions, partnerships with stakeholders, developing outreach strategies and improving the competence of managing human resources in carrying out the tasks and functions of managing conservation areas.

The reform of sociology education in the context of sustainability demands a paradigm shift from anthropocentric to biocentric thinking, particularly in preparing future teachers to internalise sustainability values rooted in local wisdom. This study aims to identify and analyse the role of the hidden curriculum in embedding sustainability values in prospective teachers in Maluku, within the context of sociology education. Using a qualitative case study approach, data were collected through participatory observation, in-depth interviews, document analysis, and focus group discussions (FGDs) involving the Department of Sociology at Universitas Pattimura and selected secondary schools in the Maluku region. The findings reveal that sustainability values are implicitly instilled through local cultural practices, such as Pela Gandong (social solidarity), Sasi Laut (customary marine conservation), and gotong royong (social and economic sustainability). Additionally, local historical narratives and myths contribute to students' ecological awareness. The study highlights the strategic potential of sociology education in shaping a sustainability-oriented mindset among future educators. Its novelty lies in identifying a contextual and applicable model of hidden curriculum based on local wisdom. The main recommendation is to design a more explicit curriculum that integrates sustainability values into both conceptual and practical dimensions of teaching and learning.

Introduction Effective underwater vision is critical for real-time marine ecosystem observation and conservation, especially for autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs) operating in challenging oceanic environments. Methods We propose a novel underwater image enhancement framework tailored for smart robotic systems used in biodiversity monitoring, habitat mapping, and environmental sensing. Our method integrates a Denoising Diffusion Probabilistic Model (DDPM) for progressive image restoration with an Attention-Enhanced Convolutional Blocks (AECB) augmented Transformer backbone. The AECB modules provide dual channel and spatial attention, selectively amplifying features to enhance visual quality. Additionally, a lightweight architecture combined with a skip-sampling strategy is designed to optimize computational efficiency for onboard deployment in AUVs and underwater drones. Results Experimental evaluations demonstrate that our framework achieves superior image restoration performance while maintaining computational efficiency, outperforming existing transformer-diffusion approaches. The dual attention mechanism within AECB modules distinctly improves the clarity and detail of underwater images. Discussion This work advances AI-driven perception systems for intelligent ocean observation technologies, supporting improved marine biodiversity protection. The proposed model promises practical real-time applications in autonomous underwater exploration and monitoring. The model and code will be made publicly available on GitHub: https://github.com/ntiwari91/DM-AECB .